Dominion Energy Virginia, American Electric Power, and FirstEnergy Corp. have entered into a joint planning agreement to propose several new regional electric transmission projects across multiple states within the PJM Interconnection footprint.
Power demand in the PJM region is growing at an unprecedented pace due to the rapid expansion of energy-intensive industries such as data centres, the electrification of transportation and heating, and increased manufacturing onshoring. At the same time, the region's power generation mix is changing as legacy generation is retired and more renewables are added to the grid.
The companies jointly proposed the projects through PJM's Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP) Open Window process in September. PJM is the regional transmission organisation that coordinates the transportation of wholesale electricity across the 13-state region that includes Virginia. The proposed projects include several new 765-kV, 500-kV, and 345-kV transmission lines in Virginia, Ohio, and West Virginia.
The projects are in the early stages of development. If selected by PJM, the companies would then undertake a multi-year process to select routes, perform environmental studies, engage with communities, obtain state and local permitting, and build the projects.
In addition to the joint proposals, each of the three companies has also submitted individual proposals for other transmission projects, consistent with how each company has participated in past PJM open windows.
